Need for Secularism

Basharat Shameem
Recently, in an interview to the daily newspaper, the incarcerated militant-turned-separatist leader Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Mohd Qasim launched into a spiteful tirade against Kashmiris calling them ‘hypocrites’. He was particularly aghast at their participation in the democratic process in large numbers while referring to the free and fair assembly elections of 2008 and 2014. He didn’t even spare the once simple living antecedents of Kashmiris by declaring them as “impure Muslims” who retained strong elements of Brahmanism. One is not sure about the magnitude of the constituency that Faktoo and his ideology represent. Yet ironically they call themselves to be the genuine representatives of Kashmiris. Faktoo lashes out at Kashmiris for being too moderate and tolerant in following their religion. For Faktoo and his fellow ideologues, Islam is incomplete in Kashmir because it is not the ideal “Saudi” brand of Islam that they aspire for. Faktoo has a Doctorate in Islamic studies and he accomplished this commendable feat while being in the prison. But unfortunately, he is too blind to the truth. Faktoo seems to be too ignorant about the history of Kashmir or for that matter the history of Islam in the subcontinent. He and his fellow separatists need a few lessons on how the secular and syncretic fabric of valley has stood apart despite the stiff obstacles that history had to offer. He forgets that just like this writer, there are innumerous Kashmiris who are extremely proud of their ancestry. He forgets the “light” that Mahatma Gandhi saw in Kashmir amidst all the dark chaos of the gory events of partition. Faktoo and his ideologues would do well to read these verses from Lalla Ded:
Shiva abides in all that is, everywhere
Then do not distinguish between a Hindu and Mussalman.
If thou art wise, know thyself
That is true knowledge of the Lord.
The land of Kashmir has had a unique privilege of offering a focal point to the people of diverse faiths who evolved a unique identity based on the universal values of pluralism and toleration. It is something about which one needs to be proud of; not to be ashamed of. Yet the Islam, which Faktoo and his radical band dub as being ‘incomplete’, is still Islam. These are the things which have to be brought into the public discourse in order to counter the debilitating effects of fanaticism. While on the one hand, separatists like Faktoo justify Kashmiris’ struggle as a struggle for fundamental political rights, on the other hand they give an extremist touch to it by linking it to the pan-Islamic ideals like Caliphate and all that. Thus, adding another huge complication to the intricate azaadi discourse which straddles between independence and merger with Pakistan. This is only going to add to the growing confusion and stalemate which ordinary Kashmiris find themselves in. There is, of course, a need for sustaining the genuine political struggle in Jammu and Kashmir, but it has to be delineated from the growing extremist consciousness which has the potential of diluting it. At a time, when the rightwing frenzy, well patronized by the ruling party and its affiliates, is disturbingly finding its roots in India, Kashmiri struggle cannot afford to shun the principles of democracy and pluralism. There is no place for religious bigotry and retrograde sectarian consciousness in a movement which calls itself to be fighting for people’s identity and rights. The more early the separatists in the valley understand this, the more better it would be for the besieged people of Kashmir. Ultimately, any solution to the Kashmiris’ genuine aspirations lies within the frameworks of democracy and secularism. It is something which can be negotiable and would be in correspondence with the democratic and constitutional frameworks of India.
A common Kashmiri, the worst sufferer in any case, seems fed of the contesting narratives both state and non-state which only create delusions for his tortured existence. There is betrayal, weariness, frustration, and alienation which have all combined together to structure the rather fractured psyche of Kashmiris. Uncertainty, stalemate and status quo are never going to be the solutions to our problems. However, extremism and fundamentalism are not going to be the solutions either.
A political solution has to be there, but where are the separatists with their confused state of mind taking the people of Kashmir? Their slapdash antics are always difficult to comprehend. As in the instance of Faktoo and many of his associates, harbouring hopes of a nearly fantastical wonderland of “Islamic Caliphate” on the lines of ISIS is being too delusional and too unrealistic. It is only going to prolong the stalemate and conflict, and will make that ever-elusive solution too elusive.  The way out is certainly not any imposed or borrowed method or concept, but something which is at the very heart of Kashmir’s historical identity-the idea of pluralism which can certainly complement the democratic struggle, not any regressive religious sojourn into the world of chaos and destruction.
(The author is Lecturer English Directorate of          Distance Education, University of Kashmir)
(feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com)

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